A passenger train has derailed at Lewes, in East Sussex, in the south of England, leaving two people seriously injured. The incident has been described as a developing and serious situation, with emergency services rushing to the scene after the train came off the railway tracks. It quickly became one of the main breaking stories of the day as the scale of what had happened started to emerge.
Aerial pictures of the scene showed the extent of the derailment. Three of the train's carriages were lying on their side after having come off the tracks. The images gave a clear view of the wreckage, with the carriages toppled over beside the railway line, underlining just how forceful the derailment had been.
Despite the dramatic scene, there were early signs that a more serious outcome may have been avoided. According to reports, the majority of people on board were able to walk away from the incident. Even so, two people were said to have been seriously injured, and the focus of the response turned to treating the casualties and accounting for everyone who had been on the train.
The emergency response was substantial. Nearby hospitals said they were responding to what had been declared a major incident, a designation used when an event requires a large, coordinated deployment of resources. The South East Coast Ambulance Service was among the services that attended the derailment, working to reach and treat those who had been hurt.
Eyewitness accounts began to paint a picture of the moments before the train left the tracks. Some of those on board described the carriage rocking and jumping, and spoke of the emergency brakes being slammed on. Such accounts pointed to a sudden and violent sequence of events as the train came off the rails and carriages were thrown onto their sides.
In the immediate aftermath, key details were still being established. Authorities and broadcasters said they were still waiting for a full report on the exact number of people injured and how serious those injuries were. With the situation described as ongoing, the information available in the first hours was necessarily incomplete as responders worked at the site.
For now, the confirmed picture is of a train derailment at Lewes that left carriages overturned and two people seriously hurt, while many others escaped without major harm. As the emergency response continued and investigators prepared to examine what had gone wrong, further details on the casualties and the cause of the derailment were expected to follow in the hours ahead.